Blue-Eyed Breather

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you may have seen all the crazy updates the past week. If not, let me tell you that I had a rather terrifying experience during surgery on July 18th. I was going in for routine sinus surgery; no big deal, right? Wrong. No one will ever be able to tell anyone in my family that there is such a thing as routine surgery after this experience. I got to the hospital bright and early (5:30 am, to be exact). Everything went fine during check-in. They gave me the way too big hospital gown, took some blood, asked me a million and two questions, and got me all ready to go into surgery. The sinus surgery itself went beautifully. Dr. Eskew was able to get a lot done and fix a lot of potential issues. However, when I was waking up from the anesthesia, my breathing was out of sync. My abdomen and chest were not moving together, and I had uncontrolled movements. As well, my carbon dioxide level was 92; it's supposed to be between 23-29 (so it was dangerou...

Today, I start yet another round of IV antibiotics. I counted the number of times I've had IVs the other day, but I kept losing track. If I were to make a rough estimate, I'd say I've had 25 or so courses of IV antibiotics over my life. Needless to say, I'm used to the routine: get poked/taped up so my port stays accessed and sterile, run two different IVs every eight hours, flush the port with saline and heparin appropriately, get blood drawn twice a week, get port reaccessed once a week, run the course of antibiotics for three weeks, go to the doctor at the end to check PFTs (pulmonary function test), don't get the access site wet, shower strategically, take zofran (anti-nausea medicine) as often as possible, take naps frequently. When you've had heavy-duty IVs as often as I have, you know all the tricks. Let's be real, I'm pretty sure I know more than most nurses! But that's beside the point. IVs are a part of my cystic fibrosis journey. It's ...

In the craziness of this life, we often forget to stop and be thankful. We get swept away with running errands, going to school, doing chores, working a job, or spending time with friends and family. None of those things are bad, but it's good to slow down and remember how blessed we are. I haven't written a thankful Thursday blog in awhile, and I decided that today would be the perfect day to write one.  1. I'm thankful for the time I had in Waco this summer. Not only did I get to work Camp Success (see last blog post), but I also got to know some really amazing people who I am thankful to now call my friends. I was able to break out of my introverted shell and enjoy getting out of my comfort zone. Can you believe it--I actually enjoyed getting out of my comfortable little bubble! I know that God gave me the opportunity to stay in Waco for half the summer, and I am so grateful!!  2. I'm thankful for my education and for scholarships that help me pay for it. I am an avi...

"A career in speech-language pathology challenges you to use your intellect (the talents of your mind) in combination with your humanity (the gifts of your heart) to do meaningful work that feeds your soul."-Megan Hodge For the past few days, I've been trying to figure out how to sum up my experience as a reading specialist for Baylor's reading and speech camp (Camp Success). I've finally figured it out. Camp Success ignited my heart with a love for the kids who attended camp as well as for my future career. Every time one of my kids improved in fluency, I rejoiced with them. When sounds-symbol relationships began to click in their brains, I couldn't contain my excitement. When they read short stories and answered comprehension questions perfectly that they were unable to answer before, I wanted to jump up and down. When I saw their confidence increase by tenfold, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. These kids learned so much in just four short weeks, n...

The following is written by a Cf patient who participated in a recent study designed to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis.  Enjoy the update!! The result of a trial by Vertex Pharmaceuticals for a drug that treats the underlying cause of Cystic Fibrosis was released. I read the data in   The New York Times   over and over until it sunk it.   The study showed the drug combination of Ivacaftor – also known as Kalydeco – and the new drug Lumacaftor has a groundbreaking effect on people with Cystic Fibrosis who were carriers of the gene combination double delta F508. It’s the most common genetic mutation in just under 80pc of the world’s population with CF. The results narrated perfectly how and why I had been feeling certain ways for the past 12 months. I was one of the lucky 1,100 people deemed suitable and selected for the trial, which began late last  summer . It enlisted people with Cystic Fibrosis with double DeltaF508 from across  Europe ,...